


Late Nights

by an_american_teen_against_crime, ladylindaaa



Category: Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries (TV), Nancy Drew (Video Games), Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys Super Mysteries - Franklin W. Dixon & Carolyn Keene
Genre: Campfire, F/M, Game 10: The Secret of Shadow Ranch, Nancy x Frank, Slow Burn, Tacos, francy - Freeform, smores, tw: mentions/discussions of death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-18
Updated: 2020-09-18
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:47:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26523166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/an_american_teen_against_crime/pseuds/an_american_teen_against_crime, https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladylindaaa/pseuds/ladylindaaa
Summary: “Can I ask you something?” She mumbled after what felt like an eternity.Oh no, Frank thought. That’s never a good sign.
Relationships: Nancy Drew/Frank Hardy
Comments: 5
Kudos: 16





	Late Nights

Nancy didn’t get to spend much time with the Hardy boys beyond casework due to their collective knack for stumbling upon adventures. The three of them were magnets to mysteries; every time they were together, a case presented itself, challenging them to conquer it. Even though most of her attempts to have a normal weekend with the boys fell through, she always jumped at the chance to spend time with them in between cases.

This time around, Nancy hoped that she could control her curiosity long enough to have a fun weekend with her friends. Aunt Bet and Uncle Ed had extended an invitation to Bess, George, and Nancy to have a ‘redo’ of their first trip to Shadow Ranch. Frank and Joe’s spring break had coincidentally lined up that weekend, and the Rawleys were more than happy to accommodate two more. Ned, unfortunately, was unable to join in on the festivities. Taking a few days off would mess up his busy schedule of classes and football practice. 

Nancy sighed.  _ Ned. _

Their break-up happened a little over a year ago. The fresh sting of it had worn off, but even though they promised to remain friends, it didn’t make the awkwardness disappear.

But that was behind her now. Sitting in the moonlight at Shadow Ranch with her best friends, roasting marshmallows by the fire, Nancy felt a sense of comfort. A smile grew on her face as she watched her friends interact, laughing and teasing each other. This weekend was going to be a nice change of pace.

“Nancy,” Bess said in a curious tone. “You seem very...  _ think-y. _ ” 

Nancy let out a soft laugh. “Guess I’m just focused on my marshmallow roasting.”

“Oh. My. God,” Bess whined. “Mine keeps falling into the fire.” She flopped back into her chair, mourning her poor marshmallow, lost forever to the fiery depths. 

“Don’t worry Bess, I can whip one up for you,” Joe offered, nudging her shoulder and turning his skewer over in the fire with a flourish. “Don’t you worry, it’ll be the best s’more you’ll ever eat!”

“Um… agree to disagree,” She scrunched up her nose. “You set your marshmallows on fire! It’s almost like you love to watch them suffer.”

“What can I say, I like ‘em crispy.” 

“I’ve noticed,” Frank placed his own perfectly toasted marshmallow onto the center of a graham cracker. “By the way, I think you’ve eaten an entire bag.”

“Sounds like someone’s jealous of my marshmallow roasting skills. Don’t worry bub, I can teach you the ropes.”

“... Did you just call me bub?”

“Indeed I did.”

“You know what, get back to me when you learn how to boil water.” 

Frank turned and threw a smirk at Nancy. In the corner of her eye, Bess and Joe exchanged an indecipherable look.

A sudden loud snore disrupted Nancy’s focus on Joe’s antics. A quick glance revealed George to be slumped over, dangerously near the fire.

“George!” Bess sprang into action, rattling her cousin. “GEORGE! _ ”  _

George woke with a start, giving Bess a frantic look that could kill. “What? What is it?”

“Don’t get mad at me, you were about to fall into the fire,” Bess said. 

“You should hit the sack,” Joe chimed in. “I prefer my friends un-toasted.” 

George brought herself to her feet and lazily staggered to the porch, mumbling something that sounded like a goodnight. 

“I should head inside too, actually. I hear some leftover tacos calling my name,” Joe said. “You guys better hurry if you want any, I think there’s only a few left.”

Bess perked up. “Hey, don’t you dare eat them all!” 

Bess looked at Joe. Joe looked at Bess. Like lightning, they were off. Joe had almost reached the door when he tripped on the step and sprawled face-first onto the porch. Bess revelled in the golden opportunity to snag the best tacos for herself, dancing around the island in the kitchen and teasing Joe for his fatal mistake. 

Nancy chuckled and looked at Frank, who was sitting on the stump next to her. “You sure you’re related to him?”

“Sometimes, I really don’t know.” Frank laughed softly, absentmindedly running his fingers through his hair. “You tired yet?”

“Actually, not at all.” she said, her gaze fixed on the fire. 

“Same.” 

They sat together quietly, taking in the peaceful night around them. A soft whisper of shifting hay drifted from the stable as the horses settled in for the night. The cool breeze made Nancy consider scooting closer to the warmth of the fire, but the overwhelming smell of smoke persuaded her to stay put. She shifted her weight in her camping chair, wrapping her arms around her knees and looking up at the bright stars above. It was a clear night; the sky seemed much bigger here compared to that of her hometown.

Home, however, was the last thing on Frank’s mind. He was thoroughly enjoying their trip; he especially appreciated the current moment of stillness after their long day in the sun. The group had been horseback riding all day, traveling to find petroglyphs in the desert. He felt a slight headache coming on from being in the heat for so long. Thank goodness the weather cooled down quite a bit at night. 

Bending down from the tree stump he was sitting on, he picked up a spare piece of kindling and began to draw lazy circles in the dirt. His eyes were intent on his work, his brow furrowed in concentration. After a couple minutes of silence, he lifted his gaze and turned toward Nancy. 

"You know, this place is so weird,” Frank said in a low voice.

“What do you mean?" Nancy asked.

“It’s just different. Everything about it. Like seeing mountains in the distance. Even the dirt is a different color. Kinda feels like a whole other world.” A beat. “It makes you wanna know what else there is in the world that we don’t know about.”

“Yeah… it is pretty different here, huh.”

"You know what’s cool though?"

Nancy let out a soft laugh. "What’s that?"

"The fact that the stars are universal. We can be in completely different countries, but we all have access to the same stars at one point or another."

"Hey you know what, I’ll be right back!" She darted up before Frank could even ask where she was going.

Frank cracked a smile as she walked back toward the house. It was just like Nancy to jump up in the middle of a conversation like that; there had been many times during past cases when she would drop everything the moment inspiration struck. Normally, this was off-putting to the people she worked with; in fact, there were many things Nancy did that people couldn’t quite understand. 

Frank didn’t claim to understand  _ everything  _ about Nancy. That girl was a living, breathing, walking puzzle. Which was ironic, since she was so fond of puzzles. Even though he didn’t always know what she was planning, he did understand the urge to follow through with a new and exciting idea. 

Maybe that was why they worked so well together.

A couple minutes later, Nancy came back with two blankets. Before Frank could reach his hands out to help, Nancy walked past him and placed one of the blankets down, spreading it out across the ground. After she was satisfied with its placement, she plopped herself down on one side. She carefully folded the second blanket over herself, smoothed out the wrinkles, and gently patted the empty spot to her side, motioning for Frank to come join her. Frank grinned, squiggled over his artwork in the dirt, and got up to sit next to her.

Frank noticed another strange thing about Arizona-- it was a lot darker at night than he had expected it to be. Since the ranch was fairly secluded, there wasn’t much light pollution to keep the backyard well lit. If the fire had been out, they would have been forced to rely on the dim light of the moon to see. He sat down and looked over at Nancy’s silhouette, illuminated by the firelight. She noticed his gaze out of the corner of her eye and returned it with a soft glance, her blue eyes glimmering and a warm smile forming on her face. He could tell it was one of those genuine smiles because she scrunched up her nose and squinted her eyes ever so slightly.

Frank laid back onto the blanket, resting his ankle on his knee. Folding his hands behind his head, he looked up into the night sky. His thoughts drifted off until he felt a light tap on his elbow. 

He tilted his head to look up at Nancy, who was fiddling with the tassels at the end of her blanket. 

“Frank?” she whispered in a tone he couldn’t quite distinguish. 

“Yeah?” 

“Um… you’re not falling asleep on me already, are you?” 

“Pfft. No.” 

“Good.”

Frank raised an eyebrow at Nancy and propped up his back with his elbows, wondering if she had originally intended to say something else.

She took a deep breath, quickly looking back down at the blanket on her lap.

“Can I ask you something?” She mumbled after what felt like an eternity.

_ Oh no,  _ Frank thought.  _ That’s never a good sign.  _

He had always been the type to overthink these kinds of questions. His mind always drove him to immediately assume that he did something wrong. Did he speak out of turn? Did he make her feel uncomfortable at some point during the trip? Did he take the last slice of pizza at dinner yesterday? 

After coming to terms with all of the worst case scenarios he could think of, he calmed himself down enough to let out an answer.

“...yeah?”

Silence followed. Nancy pushed her blanket off to the side and, once again, pulled her knees close to her chest. Frank’s worries only grew stronger when substantial time had passed and she still hadn’t said a word. She seemed to be completely void of emotion, blankly staring into the fire. That was the thing about Nancy he couldn’t quite wrap his head around-- she often didn’t express how she was feeling. He had hinted to her in the past that he would be more than willing to lend a listening ear when she needed it. Despite his offer, he wondered if she would ever feel comfortable enough to accept it.

He was starting to get the sense that maybe this wasn’t even about him. 

_ Of course it’s not about you, Frank. The world doesn’t revolve around you. _

“I don’t really know what I want to say,” Nancy finally said in an uneasy tone. “I’ve just been thinking a lot recently, and...”

“... and?”

“I... keep waking up in the middle of the night.”

Frank wasn’t sure what to say. 

“... oh.” He sat upright, resting his arms on his knees and trying to read her facial expression.

“I’m not sure if this is going to make any sense. But I wanted to ask you about it. I don’t want to worry the others but I need to know if anyone else is struggling with this, or if it’s just me.”

She paused.

“I keep... dreaming about dying. Almost every night, actually,” she turned her head towards him. “Sometimes it’s past times I’ve almost died, but in the dream, I don’t make it. Sometimes it’s different places I don’t even recognize. But every time I... I see my dad. And Bess and George. Even you and Joe sometimes.”

Frank’s stomach dropped. 

She continued. “It’s just so weird, because I’ve never really dealt with this before. But it keeps happening. I’m not sure how to make it stop.” 

She shifted her gaze up to the sky and took in an impatient, jagged breath. 

“I’m so sorry,” she said, waving away her words. “I don’t know why I’m bothering you with any of this.” She covered her face with the palm of her hand, resting her elbow on her knee.

Looking at her, Frank felt a powerful wave of emotions completely flood his thoughts. He tried to respond, but despite his attempts to catch his breath, he struggled to speak without wavering his tone. He finally managed to give her a reassuring nod.

“No, it’s okay, really. I want to listen,” he said, shaking his head and furrowing his brows. “Do you think... that maybe you’re having these dreams because you feel unsafe during cases?”

After so many years of knowing Nancy, he had never seen this side of her. She always maintained an aura of composure and control around him, even in the most stressful situations. When all seemed lost, Nancy was determined to find a solution. This time, however, seemed different. He just wasn’t sure how to help. 

The buzz of the cicadas filled the suffocating silence. 

“... Nancy?”

Lifting her head ever so slightly, she looked over at him with tired eyes, silently searching for some form of reassurance in his facial expression.

He let out a forceful sigh, running his fingers through his hair. Before he had time to talk himself out of it, he moved to close the gap between them. He reached his arm around her shoulders and pulled her towards him, resting his hand on the back of her head.

Frank froze. He immediately began to doubt his decision. Was this making her even more uncomfortable? Did he make things worse? To his surprise, he felt her collapse into his arms and rest her head on his chest. He let out a sigh of relief as he felt her wrap her arms around him in return. 

When she rested her head on his chest, she could hear his heart, which was beating surprisingly fast. As time passed, however, his heartbeat settled to a relaxed rhythm. She found comfort in the steadiness of his breathing.

“Hey,” Frank whispered, tilting his head towards her. “I know that you’re struggling to talk about this right now. Just know that I’m here for you. Whenever you need me.”

Frank had finally managed to clear his mind enough to speak. He was reassured when he felt her steady breaths against the collar of his sweater. 

“Nancy, you wanna know something?” He let out a soft laugh. “You are one of the strongest people I have ever met. And luckily, the universe doesn’t give us more than we can handle. This may seem impossible to overcome now, but I promise you that it will pass. It just takes some time.”

Soon after, Frank heard a quiet sniffle from below. He could feel her breathing becoming more and more rugged, and after a moment, he could hear her softly crying into his chest. 

They sat together in silence. 

After a few minutes, Nancy could feel him tracing lazy circles on her shoulder blade with his thumb, calming her enough to slow down the flow of her tears. She shifted her position to hold him tighter. He started to sway back and forth in a way that was almost indiscernible, yet comforting. She eventually managed to match her breathing pattern to the rhythm of his movement.

After her tears subsided, she hesitantly sat upright and let go of Frank. When she looked up at him, he quickly turned away and wiped a single tear off of his cheek. 

“Oh no, I’m sorry Frank. Did I upset you?” She asked.

“No, you-” he paused and shook his head. “No.”

Nancy wiped her nose with the back of her hand.

“Sorry, Frank. Your shirt is all… damp now.” She let out a quiet laugh, her smile lightening the mood.

“Hey, don’t worry about it. I like my shirts soggy.” Frank laughed but internally cringed at his dorky joke.

“I think we should at least try to get some sleep. It must be pretty late.” She looked over to see that all of the lights inside the house were turned off.

Frank angled the face of his watch toward the fire to check the time.

“Oh man, it’s 3 am. We’re gonna be zombies tomorrow, huh.”

Responding with only a giggle, Nancy slowly stood up, dusted herself off, and grabbed a bucket of water to put out the fire, leaving Frank to pick up and fold the blankets. They made their way to the porch, taking one last opportunity to look up at the stars as they walked.

Before Frank opened the door, he paused, resting his hand on the door handle and looking back at Nancy in the dim light of the porch.

“Feel free to wake me up if you need anything. I’ll be just across the hall. And don’t worry about waking up Joe. He’s a heavy sleeper.”

He looked down at Nancy, who gave a nod and a soft smile. He opened the door for her and they went their separate ways for the night.

**Author's Note:**

> We really hope you enjoyed our first co-written fic! We wanted to play with the idea of Frank slowly realizing his feelings at the same time Nancy does. One day we were talking about Francy headcanons and accidentally improvised this whole fic. Other two chapters coming soon!  
> Cambria here: that soggy shirt line ain’t mine, that comes from our King Conan Gray, my headcanon is Frank listened to that song and stole the line haha. (it’s from Comfort Crowd btw check it out thanks bye)  
> Alyssa here: i want to have the last word in the notes. Ok bye  
> Good luck with that bub -Cambria  
> https://www.tumblr.com/blog/ladylindaaa  
> https://www.tumblr.com/blog/an-american-teen-against-crime


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